A radio station has caused a row after its advertisements caused controversy with Bradford bus bosses.

Adverts to promote Leeds-based dance radio station Galaxy 105 have been banned by First Bradford for including an offensive word.

The advert features a cotton bud with a toilet brush on each end with the caption Get the Crap Out Of Your Ears.

First Bradford's marketing officer Brandon Jones said the advert had to be pulled because it was offensive.

He said: "Thousands and thousands of people see our adverts on a daily basis and they have got to be appropriate.

"All campaigns are looked at before they are released on to the buses to ensure there is no potential to offend anyone in any way.

"On this occasion we felt that the advert in question had to be withdrawn because we felt that it might be offensive."

But Nick Button, Galaxy's brand director, hit back at the bus company saying the advert is only a bit of fun.

He said: "Most people have just laughed and really enjoyed the advert. We were quite surprised when First Bus said that it was offensive. It's just a bit of fun taking the mickey out of our competitors. None of us who came up with the ad thought that anyone would find it offensive."

But Mr Jones denied that First Bradford had lost its sense of humour.

Other slogans used in the campaign are Put Something Sharper in Your Ears, featuring a cotton bud with barbed wire at the ends, and Put Something Fresher in Your Ears, which has a lime on each end of the bud.

But it is only the toilet humour of the offending advert that has caused controversy.

An Advertising Standards Authority spokesman backed First Bradford, saying: "We applaud any company that makes a decision not to accept an ad because they think it may cause serious or widespread offence."

He added that a survey carried out by the authority in 1998 showed that more than half of people interviewed considered the word 'crap' offensive.

The adverts are part of a £100,000 campaign to increase Galaxy's audience in Yorkshire. They will be seen on the side of 400 buses across Yorkshire and on buses using Bradford Interchange.

The campaign will also appear on 200,000 beer mats and 120,000 posters.

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